Twitter @haarsager

Tuesday, 15 March 2011

Funding the future of #pubmedia - a new proposal from Stephen Hill

Stephen Hill, whose Hearts of Space program is familiar to public radio listeners, is out with a new proposal for funding public media. Stephen has built a successful online and radio business in a "niche of a niche" and has learned a lot along the way about content economics. This is a long document but well worth your time to read and discuss.

The following quotes from an email he sent out today:

Colleagues:

I've posted the paper I've been working on since June 2010 to my blog and sent a text version to the Pubradio list. (The list appears to be down at the moment due to a hosting change, but it should show up soon.)

The ideas I'm advancing in this paper for reform of the business and service models of public media have taken on added relevance in recent weeks, and have convinced me that now is the time to go public with it. It is very strange to find myself ready to agree to phasing out Federal funding, but for the radically different reasons than those who are pursuing a partisan political agenda. I am convinced that

If public media is to secure its future, it must be with the public.

You may have received a draft in the past. I've revised the paper substantially, and I hope the attacks on public media will encourage you to reconsider it in the light of the challenges we face. Frankly, it's a long and demanding read, but there is nothing like being threatened to focus the mind.

I solicit your comments and criticism. Please email me links to any blog or public forum in which you post responses.